It Happened One Night
by pepper-maroon
Summary: Two people try to forget what happened between them, and though they try, they can't forget each other.
1. Izzie

_As ever, I don't own a thing, etc._

_This is an entirely different fic from my other one. It takes place sometime after Derek moves into the house, Alex and Izzie aren't really together, and Addison makes a guest appearance to Seattle . . ._

**Chapter 1**: _**Izzie**_

_She didn't know how it happened, but it had happened._

_She didn't know why it happened, but it had happened._

_She wished it didn't happen, but it did._

_No matter how she thought about it, the sinking realization hit her each time. **It had happened**._

_How could she ever justify this? Was it a trend she had with men? Denny, Alex, and George were the only names every on repeat in her sad personal life, until now._

_Because what had happened now, made her previous escapades make her look angelic . . . and she was by no means angelic._

_She let her shoulders sink with the weight of what she had done. She couldn't blame alcohol or any other intoxicating substance. They were both quite sober._

_Only they were drunk in the sense of moping about their sad love lives._

And so, she was here in Joe's, drowning in her misery at the bar when she saw him come in. She caught her breath at the sight of him.

She felt her shoulder sink further at the thought of knowing that kind of man would never be hers, because he was not hers to have.

He didn't seem to notice her, and yet, all she could feel was the way his fingers had trailed up her back the night before. Her spine began to tingle as yesterday's tryst outlined her mind.

_She blamed him. He started it. He had kissed her with such ferocity … okay, well, she now blamed herself because she loved the feeling of being wanted and she should have pushed him away. **After all, he's off limits**._

_It had happened. A temporary lapse in judgment was all the explanation needed, right? But the thing is, she loved the feeling of being needed. She was tired of always chasing after others, and this time, she wasn't the one doing the chasing._

_After all, he started it . . . so that must mean he had felt something for her. How odd is it that after all this time, he chose now to make his move?_

She took another sip of her drink, bringing her closer to an inebriation that hadn't always gotten her into the best of situations. She eyed him as he brushed the snow off his coat (and from the back she had dug her fingers into last night) and unwound his scarf (from the neck she had grasped onto while they kissed).

She suddenly found that even though she had noticed his boyish charm and infectious smile, she never realized that he was a possibility for her, and now it was too late. That was her luck – always too late.

She was really trying to beat herself up, but all she could think about was the way his fingers trailed up her thighs . . . the way he kissed her between her breasts . . . and the way he moaned her name into her hair as he entered her.

_Is there a possibility of having sex with such an intensity that it's not meaningless . . . that it means something more . . . that she wasn't a substitution for someone else?_

_He started it. He caught sight of her pausing at the corner after she realized that he was arguing with his one and only love. Her heart beat jumped because what he said was so right and poetic, and she wished someone would say those things to her. However, the object of his affection walked away, and he just wanted to be wanted . . . like her._

She was still eyeing him (discreetly, of course). She knew she should look away because if someone caught her – well, this hospital does thrive on gossip after all.

_Is it possible that after such a sudden and brief closeness, that she could feel so alive and connected to him?_

_Should she tell him? No, they had been avoiding each other all day as if God would send his thunderbolt down at them soon enough._

_But he had started it, so he must have felt something?_

_But in her heart, she knew that even if he had started it, he would end it. He wasn't hers (and never would be). And she knew better. She had ruined her career, her relationship, and a marriage once before. She knew better. If she felt anything, she would have to kill it now, because it would ruin everything. After all, if things were to go back to normal, they should act like nothing ever happened._

She looked at him again. She felt as if it was eternity, when in fact, it was only a few seconds. She was mostly looking for a sign . . . for some hope that he might have felt something . . . that there was a way they could work things out. Nonetheless, she knew better.

Finally, he began to scan the crowd. He passed over her like she didn't even exist. He found what he was looking for, and then, he walked over to a booth to sit beside the woman he belonged to, and began to make an attempt to work things out. He never even gave a backward glance to the hopeful girl sitting at the bar watching him.

She turned back into her drink and scoffed as she took a sip. She had her answer. Whatever she had been thinking, was now to be forgotten. Nothing happened between them, and she should now continue on with bettering her existence, at least in the educational front.

She gulped down the rest of her drink (and choked back her tears), and thought about how she should forget as she pulled on her coat. She then left Joe's, holding on to her dignity and trying not to do anything that would betray the affair she just had.

She would act like nothing happened for him (for his relationship to work out and she did believe in happy endings), for the love of his life (for her friendship), and mostly for herself (to keep her from getting hurt again). She would certainly act like nothing happened . . .

However, she would never know that the second she had turned to look down at her drink, he looked up to watch her. She would never know that the second she turned to leave, Derek Shepherd finally gave her the look that he had wanted to earlier.


	2. Derek

**Chapter 2**: _**Derek**_

He knew she was there the second he entered Joe's. He didn't know what he was expecting when he stepped inside, but he felt her there. He could sense her presence as if they had some special bond, and he hated himself because he could suddenly sense her.

He took his coat off slowly while he mentally prepared his subsequent actions. He unwound his scarf, and it took every ounce of self-restraint he had to not look up at the girl at the bar.

_He was finally moving on (and in) with the woman he loved. There was no way he could break her heart (and her home). His actions . . . well, they weren't his best, and he could not turn his back on someone who was finally beginning to open up her heart to him._

So, instead, he scanned the crowd and passed over the girl with the doey eyes and on to the dark and twisty one. He headed over to her booth, thinking of an apology for their earlier disagreement, but really wanting to tell her the truth (though he knew he would never be forgiven). The truth would be the right thing to do, since he was always asking for a more open relationship from her. It would be hypocritical of him to avoid what had happened.

She forgave him (but not for what he wanted to be forgiven from) and she took him back just like what was expected. She put her hand on his just like they always did, and he found he was mute to tell her what happened the night before. Her hands felt comforting, but he suddenly felt a fire rage inside of him.

_Because all he could think about was what happened last night. He had never felt so dirty and ashamed in his entire life. _

He glanced over at the bar and saw her hunched over her drink, her eyes wanting to drown in the liquid. He had hurt her. He knew right then and there that she could never deal with another broken heart.

She was too forgiving and optimistic that he could never hurt something like that. She would look for an explanation, and he couldn't explain what had happened. He just wanted to forget. He wanted to act like nothing happened, but he could never kill the look in those charismatic brown ones.

After everything that had happened to her, he was amazed at how she was still able to define her sanity, and he didn't want to be the tipping point to make her cross a line. Because although he felt bad, he had never felt so alive until he was with her. However, they would have to forget what happened between them for everything else to be ok.

_He felt horrible for hurting his love, as well as betraying her in her own house. But the thing was, she ignored him so much. She was always holding on to the past and not wanting to move forward with him. To her, everything that was happening now, was a big step, and she always wanted to do it alone, no matter how much he wanted to do it together._

_And now, though she let him move in, she gave him just about the same attention as she did her other roommates. And instead of inviting him into her life, she spent night after night with her best friend caught in her mother's diaries._

_He had confronted her. She scoffed at him, like he was asking her to give up her life and devote everything to him. _

_He was on the verge of asking her to kick her roommates out when he caught sight of the blond head at the corner. There was strand of hair in her eyes, and as she pushed it out of the way, it caught the light, and he had never been so mesmerized in his entire life before. He looked into her eyes and it was if a dying man had just been granted life again._

_He stood there and the woman in front of him left, thinking the conversation was over. He stood there for several minutes staring at the blond, even after he heard the door slam and a car starting . . . even though he knew no one else was at home._

_He stared at her. Her beautiful eyes and her tall frame. He couldn't believe he was just about to ask to kick her out. She looked towards him, but the gaze went past him. She was obviously thinking about something else. He started to turn away, when he realized that look. She was pining and wanting someone, and he suddenly wished someone would give him that look._

_Before he could help himself, he seemed to finally notice her, and he walked towards her and captured her lips. He pushed against her until her back was against the wall. He kissed with such a force, that he was hoping that she would kiss back signaling that someone in the world actually felt something._

_At first he felt her go cold and restrained, but then he sensed her resolve waning and she kissed back. She wrapped her hands around his neck and held onto him tightly. Though her hands didn't wander, he found that his did._

_She started to move away from him, loosening her grip, but he pushed forward. She seemed to finally make her mind about something, and she continued to kiss him as he backed up with her until they were in her room._

Derek watched as she left, acting like nothing happened between them.

Every nerve cell in his brain was telling him should forget. However, for once, he didn't want to forget such an amazing person.

Even after she left, he was still staring after her exit. He was trying to sort through the maze of his feelings. He couldn't explain it, but he feared that if he forgot, he would forget a piece of himself. In thinking this, he stared after Izzie's exit for a tad bit too long.

He didn't think anybody noticed, but he was wrong.

Because just as the night before, when he was busy moaning Izzie's name into her hair, he never noticed the silent tears spilling from her eyes; and now, he didn't notice Mark, with all his years of expertise, watching him with curiosity.


	3. Mark

**Chapter 3**: _**Mark**_

Mark arrived early to his office, trying to piece the last three days' events together. He knew something was going on and it irked him to not be able to do anything.

_His and Derek's friendship had been on the mend for a while now, and there was no way he could even broach the subject of Derek's indiscretion._

_And yes, Mark knew about Derek's indiscretion. He knew his friend like he knew the back of his hand._

_Mark was a man of experience. He was a man who could easily read people. His medical expertise had given him the innate sense to read between the lines of people. Most of all, **Mark was a man.** He knew what types of feelings surfaced and when._

_He saw their glances at Joe's three days ago. He knew those glances like he knew the way to a woman's body. He had been in several situations in a similar manner before, and he knew how those had been resolved. **It was always messy.** _

_He noticed the way they looked at each other, with longing. However, they knew that Hell would freeze over before they could ever be together._

Mark drummed his fingers on his desk, before grabbing his white coat hanging on the chair as he headed out to put broken people together again.

_He thought about asking Derek about the glances the very night he noticed them, but he thought better of it. If anything, he didn't pry into personal lives. Prying involved attachment with women. _

_However, he and Derek still had ground to cover before they could go back to their playful banter._

_Instead, he did what he did to the few people who were close to him. **He gave Derek the benefit of the doubt**. In a sense, at least._

_He decided he would be on the lookout for a few days before making any move. However, last night confirmed his suspicions that Derek had indeed slept with another woman. He cheated. He had slept with Izzie Stevens and_ now Mark knew everything_._

And knowing everything had suddenly left him in this dilemma. Should he do anything? He spent last night pondering over their situation. He cared for his friend.

_Derek and Meredith had been through so much baggage that when Derek finally moved in with Meredith, Mark thought everything would work out. That is, until Mark found out about one detail that would sow doubt into their relationship. **Derek never let his trailer go.** This could only mean that Derek was banking on the relationship to go sour again. As if Meredith would want him to move out eventually._

_Now, Isobel Stevens was another matter entirely. She was feisty when it was something she believed in and compassionate when called for. She was intelligent, headstrong, and every bit as hot._

Mark remembered thinking how hot sex with her might be when he first arrived at Seattle Grace. But he didn't mess with interns and soon enough she moved out from his sex drive. Although, he would occasionally think about her, he knew she was one of those types who got attached, and he tried very hard to avoid those types.

Now, Mark was putting everything together.

_Derek and Meredith could have made it if they had more trust. They had become the couple he had idealized himself with Addison. But Derek had shattered this blissful image just as Addison killed a part of him when she had an abortion._

He was now mentally listing everywhere Derek had gone wrong.

_1. He should have let go of the trailer and embraced Meredith for whatever twisted person she was -- that is, if he truly loved her._

_2. He should have kicked Alex and Izzie out more forcefully._

_3. Alex should have been more of a man and been with Izzie._

_4. Maybe, Mark, himself, should have had sex with Izzie._

And either way that Mark thought about it, he was angered with his friend for making stupid mistakes.

_No doubt, that Derek and Izzie had been through a lot of pain, but what had happened between was outside the limits. Derek and Izzie were the kind of people who would only get together if they were the last people on Earth . . . or . . . if they had met each other first and moved from there._

By now, Mark was leaning against the nurses' station . . . **waiting**.

He was waiting for Derek's arrival. Mark had decided to confront Derek. After all, how could Derek break their friendship and then turn around and have another adulterous affair, the same reason for which he broke it off with Mark.

_Mark was the kind of man women could sleep with, no strings attached. He was a pro and didn't offer anything else. Derek was the kind of man, well, Addison's abortion was explanation enough._

Mark was dead set in confronting Derek by now and had his eyes trained for Derek's arrival.

"Have you heard?" Nurse Olivia interrupted him.

"Heard what?" Mark turned to looked at her.

"Dr. Montgomery's back. Quite suddenly actually."

"What?!" Mark was confused.

Olivia gave him a look before continuing. "I mean the Chief didn't call her or anything."

Mark was momentarily distracted.

At that same exact moment, Derek made his arrival. Mark caught sight of Derek, with his slightly unkempt hair and dark circles under his eyes.

_Suddenly, Mark was thrown into a flashback of a time when he, Derek, Addison, Archer, Sam, and Naomi used to all be the best of friends. They each had screwed up personal lives, but they were free to do whatever they wanted when with each other. **No judgements**. Somewhere along the lines, however, they grew a part, got divorces, and took new lovers. Their friendship became more fragile than ever before._

Mark was thrown from his reverie and glanced at a worn Derek again. It was then that Mark decided against the confrontation. Everything had a way of coming out at this hospital when it would, and when that happened, he would be what Derek needed in the aftermath -- a friend.

Mark turned away from Derek and started walking down the hall to find about this Addison business before seeing his patients.

He would forget the mental images that confirmed his suspicions the night before about Derek and Izzie. **Their kiss**.

_Mark was walking down an empty hallway, glad that most of the other doctors had the night off, and he had some time to himself. He had just turned the corner when he saw a door slightly ajar. He could see the two outlines of Derek and Izzie in a heated discussion through the crack. He stopped himself finding the whole situation quite strange._

_" -- I can't do this -- " came Izzie's teary voice._

_"Izzie, I have tried to forget what happened between us. I want to feel bad, but it keeps playing over and over again in my mind," Derek said sadly._

_Mark held his breath as he saw Derek take a red-in-the-face Izzie, who was shaking her head, into his arms and kissed her deeply as he wiped away her tears. Mark slowly let his breath out and then silently walked by._

Now, Mark roamed the halls for Addison, thinking that he was the only one who knew, and now he was burning the image in his mind.

**What he didn't know was that he wasn't the only one who knew.**

Addison Montgomery, fresh off a plane from Los Angeles and away from Noah, had seen Mark and was running after him to surprise him when she saw him stop for a minute before shaking his head and walking off. She walked to see what in the room had stopped Mark when she saw Derek and Izzie in a firm lip-lock.


End file.
